Old Man Winter has decided to stick around like an invited guest as another winter storm is approaching. The storm is following in the track of the last storm that brought almost a foot of snow to the area. During a briefing at the the Cooper County Emergency Operations Center Monday morning most Cooper County departments were on hand to hear what the National Weather Service was anticipating for the area.

According to the National Weather Service, a Winter Storm Warning was issued for the area on Sunday. The storm could bring 10-12 inches of snow, perhaps more to the area. The Weather Service has also stated the storm will begin as rain and change over to snow by late evening into the night. Snowfall rates are expected to be in the 1-2 inch per hour range. The snow is expected to continue falling until Wednesday.

Boonville Public Works Director M.L. Cauthon said crews are ready to tackle another storm. Although crews have been busy clearing snow from the last storm they will once again begin clearing snow once the rain turns over to snow Monday evening. Cauthon said temperatures are on their side since it may be 32 degrees and higher once the frozen precipitation begins. He also said crews will be back out in force removing more piles of snow this weekend, once traffic is low enough to work. The access snow is being piled up near the corner of Spring and Seconds Streets. Cauthon said salt levels are good.

Boonville Police Chief Bobby Welliver said not many accidents were reported from the last storm. To keep accidents low he urges people to stay home and not attempt to go any where.

"I would urge people and companies that should we have a forecast like this to stay off the roadways and allow people to go home early. This allows the work crews to get the streets clean much faster and keeps public safety personnel available for real emergencies," Boonville Police Chief Bobby Welliver said.

Welliver also said he wanted to tell people to make sure they are stocked up and prepared with supplies before the storm hits.

"People are taking a huge risk driving in a winter storm and we can't promise them a quick response," Welliver said.

EOC Director Tom White also asked people to stay off the roads. White said the wind will cause issues especially on Interstate 70 with the drifting snow.

Superintendent of the Boonville R-1 School District Mark Ficken has called off Tuesday classes and worries Wednesday may be a problem because of the drifting snow. The National Weather Service is calling for winds as high as 30 miles per hour, not quite blizzard conditions. at changes have occurred.